1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photographic processing system for effecting a photographic processing operation based on photographic processing information read from a photographic film adapted for image recording. The invention relates also to a method of collating an order for use with the photographic processing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A photographic processing system of the above-noted type is known from e.g. Japanese laid-open patent gazette Hei. 7-244365. According to this system, development information is recorded in a photographic film in the course of a developing operation thereof. Then, when this film is printed, whether this is a first printing or a second or reprinting, printing exposure of the film is controlled based on the development information recorded in the film so as to obtain a uniform printing effect.
On the other hand, Japanese laid-open patent gazette Hei. 6-95349 proposed another photographic printing system designed for facilitating developing and printing services. In this system, there are used, in combination, a photographic film having a transparent magnetic recording layer and a film wrapping envelope having a magnetic recording layer. Then, when a consumer brings this film to a photographic service shop or agent for its development and/or printing, a shop attendant, by using a customer-order managing machine specially adapted therefor, records, in both the recording layers, information for collation in the form of e.g. an ID code or the like. After the development/printing, by utilizing the magnetically recorded information, an automatic packing device installed adjacent an exit of the photographic processing system effects automatic collating operation of the recorded information so as to pack the film into its corresponding wrapping envelope.
In this manner, by recording service management information such as an ID code in the film and in the film wrapping envelope, the system is intended to simplify the series of photographic processing service from the consumer's order to the shipping of the ordered product from the photographic processing laboratory back to the agent and subsequently to the consumer.
The above-described systems have provided the consumer and the service agent with the advantages of the possibility of obtaining prints of uniform quality from a same photographic film and facilitated yet reliable photographic processing service management without order error. On the other hand, on the processing laboratory side, these systems have created new causes of inefficiency in the developing and printing operations, since the laboratory now has to cope with the processing information uniquely provided to each film to be processed. More specifically, for processing each film, the laboratory has to set the developing and/or printing devices to particular conditions in order to suit a particular film length, size of the printing paper or the like as required of this particular film. Especially, in view of the fact that these developing and printing operations are being effected in a mass-production manner in recent years, it will be a considerable problem if the settings of the developing and printing devices have to be done frequently.
Considering the above-described state of the art, a primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved photographic processing system adapted for such ID code or any other processing information provided in the film and/or its container (e.g. the film and print wrapping envelope) which system does not reduce the efficiency of the developing and printing operations at a photographic processing laboratory.